


Waiting

by Yatzuaka



Category: Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Darcy Lewis, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, La la la - ignoring mid credits scene, Original Character(s), Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Sex, The swears
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-08 04:49:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13450899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yatzuaka/pseuds/Yatzuaka
Summary: Darcy Lewis is just out here, trying to live her best life. The only problem is that she keeps falling into bed with Loki. She's a hundred percent sure she doesn't even like him, but try telling her libido that.





	1. ...for the right moves

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies to the Devlins, whose song I jacked for titles, for no other reason than that I am a Very Lazy Person.
> 
> Huge thanks to [Whyndancer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whyndancer/pseuds/Whyndancer) for her help, as well as the ear she's lent me time and time again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There aren't going to be further warnings for NSFW content.

Darcy Lewis thought Loki was a self-centered douchebag the first three times she met him.

She still fucked him, she just felt stupid about it later.

The problem was that he was a _pretty_ douchebag with an accent, and she was only human after all. There were limits to how much she could say no to, and those perfect abs and that ass she could bounce a quarter off of were well beyond them. Plus - and she'd admit it only on pain of death, maybe not even then - dude was awesome in bed.

Their fourth encounter was at a SHIELD meeting he hadn't been scheduled to attend. Darcy had recently started dating Ian again after he'd moved to New York for school, and while he wasn't any great shakes at actual intercourse, he had always showed potential in the oral department. When Loki asked her, after that strictly professional work meeting, if she wanted to go back to his place, she said no and really meant it. She didn't want to hurt Ian; he was a nice guy who treated her like a princess.

That night, after calling Ian, she laid in bed and masturbated. In her mind's eye, it was Loki's face she saw between her thighs, getting her off.

Darcy broke up with Ian a few weeks later. It was totally amicable. She assured Ian that it was her, not him, that she needed space to work on herself, and he seemed to have bought it. Probably because it was at least partially true, but to her own ears, it sounded lame. Ian still sent her memes from time to time, and he'd even hosted a going away party when she was transferred to work on a project in Upstate New York, so she didn't think he hated her. 

The issue of her new position was a bit thorny. It was more closely aligned to her actual degree, working out the details of how to house and help the displaced Asgardian contingent assimilate to a different society, and Darcy had been really excited by the opportunity to make a real difference. Unfortunately, she hadn't been apprised that the assignment entailed working closely with Loki. Darcy probably would have declined had she known, but no one had said a word about it until after her signature was on the paperwork.

Darcy dreaded work for days after her arrival.

It soon became clear that she needn't have worried. He paid scant attention to her existence. Loki was as professional as someone like him was capable of being, which is to say he was frequently infuriating, and worse still, had an annoying tendency of being right. She probably would've loved the way he challenged her perceptions and assumptions if he'd been anyone else. 

Darcy nonetheless found herself staring at his mouth when he spoke. The way he unconsciously licked his lips, the way his hands elegantly sketched through the air to emphasize his ideas, nearly every gesture made all sorts of inappropriate thoughts flit through her mind. Despite her good intentions (of which there were so very many) of not letting herself get sucked in by tall, dark and dickish, she still lost count of the number of times she had to change her panties in the middle of the day.

One night, they met at the icemaker in their shared hall. Loki was wearing a t-shirt and soft cotton pants, neither of which did much to hide his physique. It was an outfit that probably billions of people wore to bed, but Loki somehow managed to make borderline obscene. In the span of seconds, she'd rationalized her decision to fuck him.

It never occurred to her that he wouldn't be interested - not that she was under any impression that she was irresistible. It was just that he'd seemed all too happy to trade orgasms before. She asked him if he wanted to go back to her room, and Loki glanced down at her. It was as if he was really _seeing_ her for the first time in ages. He slowly shook his head, declining flatly.

Turned out that he already had a guest for the night, not that he'd said that; he'd only told her he was otherwise occupied. It was something she found out when she was getting coffee the next day. Office gossip was usually impeccable about those types of things - an occupational hazard of working with people who fancied themselves spies. Darcy told herself that not only wasn't it anywhere close to being her business but also that she didn't care one whit.

When her part of the project concluded, she packed her bags and went straight back to the City. It was easy to fall back into a rhythm with her old job, her old life. She went on dates, but couldn't find someone whose company she regularly enjoyed, so she kept her relationships loose and light, with no real emotional connection. With her job in SHIELD pulling her in different directions, it was easier that way.

Another few years passed before she saw Loki again, this time while she was trying to contain a story about an alien spacecraft crash-landing in the desert. Darcy was tired and grubby after a long, thankless day in the sun, and there he was; clean and well-rested and gorgeous as always. If his sudden appearance hadn't been so ludicrous, she might've thrown a small fit, but he brought tidings of coffee, a mobile wash station and a relief team that was going to take over.

Darcy let go of her irritation and left him standing with the Agent in charge to get caught up, while she went off to get a cup of much-needed coffee. The encounter did nothing to prepare her for seeing him wander into the men's side of the showers hours later.

Loki was dirtier than she ever seen him, covered in the dark grit that flew through the air outside, sweat cleaning tracks down his face and neck. She knew she shouldn't be looking, but she watched him through the crack in the slats dividing the two areas as he took off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants. Darcy held her breath, heart pounding so loud in her ears she worried he would somehow hear it.

"Do you want to join me?" he asked, turning to glance directly at her.

Loki was filthy and built and completely fucking edible. (Darcy was only human.)

Darcy squeaked, and then he shucked his pants off. All 19 reasons she could think of off the top of her head why _sexing the asset_ was a really epically bad idea, both personally and professionally, died at the sight of his cock, already halfway to hard. It took no time at all to make it over to his side of the enclosure, exactly how it took no time at all to drop her panties and toss them and her ratty sports bra into his pile of clothes.

Loki didn't look even remotely surprised to see her join him, just picked her up and moved her to one of the shower stalls. It should have ticked her off, but he turned on the hot water and suddenly she was drenched. _They_ were drenched. Grimy rivulets wound their way down his body, accentuating the hollows and dips of him, and all thoughts of _WTF_ dissipated.

If anyone found her, _them_ , like this, she'd be fired on the spot. He looked down at her with those eyes, naked and wet, and it seemed as though that was a concern for a different time.

Darcy reached for the bar of soap hanging behind her and lathered her neck and chest. The way he gazed at her was a tangible sensation - as if he was touching everywhere the bubbles slid across her body. She ached for him, and if the heat in his eyes was anything to go by, he was similarly afflicted.

Reaching out, Darcy slid the bar of soap down his neck and chest, over his stomach and through his pubic hair. Darcy stared directly into Loki's face as she carefully washed his cock and balls, relishing the way his eyes went unfocused and his jaw clenched.

Loki must've decided that he was clean enough because he suddenly picked her up again and pushed her into the flimsy divider. She was already embarrassingly wet, so it felt completely wonderful when he pressed inside her. A moan wanted to rip its way out of her chest as he pumped his hips, making the rickety enclosures clatter and wobble. Darcy bit his shoulder to keep the sound in, and Loki's breath caught, his pounding rhythm stuttered.

She squeezed her thighs around his hips, her hands clawing for purchase on his slick skin, and he lowered his mouth to her ear.

"Come for me, Darcy," he whispered, barely audible over the sound of the water.

Helpless to do anything else, she obeyed. _Fucking hell_ , he was really good at making her come.

Her legs shook when he set her down, and she couldn't imagine how she looked at the moment. Probably like a close relative of a drowned rat, she thought, as she snagged a nearby towel she hoped was clean. He watched her as she silently wrung out her hair and wrapped herself in the towel, with his head tilted to the side, an inquisitive expression on his face like he wasn't exactly sure _what_ she was.

As she turned to leave, Darcy rolled her eyes. She still had to get dressed in her last clean outfit, pack the rest of her crap, and she was probably running behind schedule after... _that._

"I'll, uhm, see y-" she started to say, but he was already asking if she wanted to meet later, for drinks or something.

She wasn't expecting an invitation and as tempting as round two sounded, "I've got a plane to catch. No rest for the wicked, you know." She smiled a little to take any sting out of the rejection.

Not that he seemed to care, just nodded a bit before he gave her his back while he started to rub himself dry. Darcy shrugged and left him there, mystified again by the ways men. She didn't realize until she was on the plane, flying somewhere over Phoenix, that she'd left her underwear back there with him. She decided not to worry about it, he'd undoubtedly throw them away. They weren't her nice ones anyway, and no great loss.


	2. …in slow motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and here's the angst.

A whole year and a half went by before she saw him at the holiday party she hadn't wanted to go to in the first place.

Things had been looking up in the relationship department, and Darcy was actually happy for once. Her girlfriend was amazing and frankly too good for her. Darcy privately thought that she might be in love, and the prospect of telling Liv made her a bit giddy rather than outright terrified, so that had to be a good sign.

The two of them had agreed to meet up at their favorite diner after Darcy had put in the requisite few hours of face time with her bosses. She wondered if she'd end up telling Liv later that night.

Loki had been waiting at the bar for his drink when their eyes met. Unwilling to seem like she wasn't entirely over him, which she totally was, she smiled and nodded, wending her way through the crowd to say hello. Her smile froze on her face as she reached him. His arm was around a tall, blonde woman, a stunning ethereal beauty who instantly made Darcy feel about three feet tall and hideous. Darcy's breath caught in her throat, a crushing sense of foolishness coating her skin.

"Sweetie," the woman said, tugging gently on Loki's black tie, and Darcy could have goggled at her, because who in their right mind would call  _that_ guy _'_ sweetie'. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" her neon white, perfectly straight teeth were bared in what should have been a lovely smile.

Darcy could see the subtle threat as easily as if the blonde had taken the knife she'd holstered along the inside of her thigh and held it to Darcy's throat. The moment hung there, stretching a line of weirdness infinitely in each direction, forevermore.

Darcy finally blinked and time resumed.

It was a beat too late, but she stuck out a hand, "Darcy Lewis. Nice to meet you. Occasionally, we, uh, -" she paused for a second to go through a list of descriptors of her relationship with Loki, trying to come up with the most professional one. "Work together in the field," she finally hedged, just as Loki murmured, "Are colleagues."

The woman pressed her fingers across Darcy's own, a strange parody of a handshake, and introduced herself while Loki drank deeply of something amber from a glass with a thick bottom. Darcy wished she could do the same, but she wasn't about to drink in front of people who she worked with. A lesson she'd learned early on, when a supervisor tried to shove his tongue down her throat after a few rum and cokes and she'd had to knee him in the junk to get him off of her.  

"So, uh, it was great to see you, but I have to get going. My girlfriend's waiting for me and uhm, yeah. Happy holidays to the both of you," Darcy blanked on her name and stumbled away from the bar on heels that were suddenly unsteady.

"Really, who was that?" the woman asked as soon as Darcy's back was turned.

"Nobody special," Loki told her.

In line to pick up her coat, Darcy mentally kicked herself for going over there. Never again, she swore, never again would she approach him socially.  _Nobody special, hah!_ She was tired. She felt stupid. All she wanted was to see a friendly face. Any friendly face would do, but in lieu of that becoming a reality in the next minute, she took comfort in knowing that in just a little while, she'd be sitting across the table from the one of the most amazing people she'd ever known. They'd probably end up laughing about the whole ridiculous situation. Her shoulders relaxed as she shrugged into her jacket, anticipating kissing Liv until they were both breathless.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," Loki said from behind her, his voice pitched low to avoid other people overhearing.

"Ditto," Darcy responded calmly.

"It wasn’t my intention for there to be any unpleasantness earlier," he said as she turned around to face him, winding a scarf around her neck before buttoning her coat.

"Don’t worry about it," her smile was rueful - awkward encounters were par for the course with them - and she tilted her head to really look at him. Loki seemed exhausted; there were faint smudges under his eyes and his cheekbones were sharper than usual. "Get some rest, dude. You look,"  _like shit_ hovered on the tip of her tongue, but they weren't friends like that. They weren't friends, period. "Like you could use a vacation. Anyway, I guess I'll see you around."

"I..." His expression was crestfallen for a second, before he subtly straightened his spine. His lips lifted in what wasn't quite a smile, and he lowered his head in a short bow, "Farewell, Darcy Lewis."

Her lungs were burning from the effort of holding her breath as she flew out the glass doors to the hotel. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, attempting to reset her emotional state to something like calm. Darcy decided she would head home and change before meeting Liv, and pulled out her phone to text her about being late.

Liv was shot by a mugger a block from the diner.

Liv's parents hadn't approved of Darcy to begin with, and Liv's injury didn't suddenly endear Darcy to them. They blamed her for it, and Darcy took that blame and held it close, because it really  _was_ her fault. If she hadn't been late, if she hadn't gone to the party, if she'd just been there, it wouldn't have happened. That Darcy wasn't welcome at the hospital was hardly a surprise when she didn't think she had the right to be there in the first place.

It was a beautiful day when Liv was transferred to a Long-Term Care facility close to her family's home in Michigan, still in a coma. Darcy spent it drinking alone in a dark bar. The sun had gone down by the time she left, and she was hammered. She remembered distinctly meeting a man. Offering to take him home to her place, looking up at the moon as they started walking and then...nothing.

When she woke up alone with her clothes still on and her boots crumpled in the corner, Darcy wasn't certain how to feel. It felt like she should be thanking her lucky stars for getting home safely (for waking up alone and fully dressed) after yesterday, but at the same time guilt ate at her. Why should she be so fortunate when she didn't even deserve it?

She fished around next to the mattress without actually moving anything but her arm and found a half-empty bottle of vodka. She'd just taken a healthy swig, and was preparing to get up to go to the bathroom when Jane barged in. Her former boss and current best friend might have looked like a pushover, but the reality was that Jane was really just pushy. Something Darcy would definitely be grateful for later, but it was hard to remember how much she loved Jane when her friend was dumping out her vodka in the sink.

Winter faded into spring without Darcy noticing. She kept volunteering for new assignments. Anything to get her out of New York and away from all her memories. It worked. Sometimes. Other times, she'd be so lonely it felt like her chest cavity was empty. She stopped seeing friends. She didn't date. She drank, but tried to keep it to after 7 pm and never more than twice a week. She could keep it under control that way, Darcy told herself.

She was in Belize trying to convince the locals to show her where a meteor had crashed a century ago when Jane called her out of the blue. She didn't leave any voicemails, and Darcy couldn't answer the phone, because she was on duty. Hours later, sitting in her dingy motel room overlooking an alley, Darcy sighed and called Jane back. Thirteen missed calls was something of an indicator that it was important.

"Darcy, you need to come home," Jane said without preamble, and while Darcy started to explain all the different ways that wasn't possible, Jane talked over her. "She's awake. Darcy, she's awake and she's asking for you."

Darcy wiped her face, stunned. Liv was a vegetable, the doctors had said, in fancier, longer words. There was no hope of her recovering, they'd said.

Thirteen and a half hours later, clutching a bouquet of gift shop roses, Darcy found herself in a Long-term Care Facility in Michigan. As she entered the hospital cafeteria, Darcy craned her neck, looking left and right until she spotted Liv in the corner. She looked so lovely it took Darcy's breath away, and Darcy had to force herself breathe through the pain in her chest, the unclenching of months’ worth of worry and guilt.

If her life was different, maybe the ensuing conversation would have gone better, or at least maybe it wouldn't have ripped her heart out, but it wasn't and it did. Liv had woken up mere weeks after the mugging, a miraculous, unexplainable recovery. She'd wanted to reach out to Darcy, but she hadn't quite been able to make herself actually do it. The bottom line of that terrible fifteen minutes was that Liv wouldn't be coming back to New York, and she didn't want Darcy to give up her job and move to Michigan with her. The worst part was when Liv said that their parting was probably for the best anyway, since they hadn’t been all that serious.

A woman in scrubs showed up as Liv was finishing her tea, and Darcy knew by the squeeze she gave Liv's shoulder, the way they looked at each other, that there was nothing left for Darcy here.

"Can you tell him thank you?" Liv asked, a tremor in her voice betraying her calm demeanor.

"Who?" Darcy asked dully, but the nurse was already wheeling Liv away. She didn’t get an answer, not that she cared.

Darcy didn't recollect the trip home to New York, only that she saw Jane waiting for her at the baggage claim in Newark. Darcy burst into the tears she'd been holding back by the skin of her teeth for the last however long it had been. Jane hugged her close and stroked her hair, somehow maneuvering them through the terminal and to a waiting car without letting go of Darcy, without making her feel stupid for not being able to stop crying.

Jane left her at Darcy's apartment, after Darcy assured her that it was ok. Jane had a kid to go home to, a tow-headed little terror at least twice as smart as her mother and who looked to be growing up to rival her absentee father's strength. Darcy pulled the bottle of vodka out from her freezer as soon as Jane left, pouring a tumbler full to the brim. She sipped it on her fire escape, looking up at the moon.

She was drunk when she came back inside, but not so drunk that the pain had gone away yet. _Yet_ being the operative word. She poured another and peed while sipping. As she exited her bathroom, she heard a tentative knock at her door. She opened it without checking the peephole, dropping her refreshed drink on the floor. The glass shattered and vodka went everywhere, but Darcy barely noticed. She couldn't reconcile what she was seeing with her reality.

Why would Loki be knocking on her door?

How did he know where she lived?

"Hi?" She said, the upward turn of her voice turning it from greeting into question.

"Hello, Darcy. May I come in?" his voice was polite, non-judgmental. As if it was totally normal for him to show up out of nowhere. As if was totally normal to find her looking like garbage.

"Uhm, sure," Darcy replied, because she couldn't think of a sane reason to decline. Everything was already in shambles anyway, so did it really matter if she invited more chaos into her life?

She shuffled backward, through sharp little shards, and cut her foot.

"Just through there," Darcy hissed through gritted teeth, pointing vaguely at the tacky beaded curtain that separated her living room and kitchen.

She looked down, unsure how to get through the glass shrapnel that coated her hallway floor without stepping in yet more of the stuff. She resolved that in the future, she would stop taking her shoes off in her bedroom and tossing them wherever, and actually use the shoe rack next to her front door for its intended purpose.

Loki glanced down and frowned at the blood that had started to coat the beat up linoleum tile.

"Let me help," he said, though he didn't wait for a response before he stepped over her threshold and picked her up.

He carried her through the curtain and set her down her her couch, over her protestations. He snagged a handful of napkins from her coffee table and pressed them against the bottom of her foot, telling her to hold it there until he got back.

"Leave it!" she yelled, irritated with his high-handed behavior; she was perfectly capable of cleaning up her own mess, but of course he didn't listen to her.

Her cabinets and her hallway closet banged open and shut as he found the necessary items to clean up after her. Darcy slumped on the couch, foot propped up on her knee and listened with half an ear as he swept up and dumped glass into her garbage can.

By the time he rejoined her in the living room, she was enjoying the way the room spun, the way her limbs felt heavy and how her mind felt like it was wrapped in cotton. He carried a pair of tweezers, a roll of paper towels and a mostly empty bottle of rubbing alcohol. The physical requirements of being a SHIELD agent meant a variety of injuries, and she was constantly playing catch up on keeping her first aid kit properly filled.

"May I?" Loki asked, gesturing to her foot, after he took a seat next to her on the couch.

"Knock yourself out," Darcy said magnanimously, since he would probably not only do a better job than she could in her current state, but would likely do it regardless of her response.

"I'll be gentle," he told her, and to her surprise, he was.

The glass shard was extracted without incident and barely a twinge, and after a liberal application of alcohol, he blew on her foot to ease the sting. Darcy pretended her reaction - the shivering warmth in her belly, the tightening of her nipples - was simply due to her inebriation, and nothing at all to do with the fact that he'd somehow always been able to turn her on without having to work at it at all.  _Fucker._ He stroked a finger across the thin red line that no longer bled in the slightest. When she'd looked at it earlier she'd thought for sure she'd end up in the hospital getting stitches, but clearly, she was mistaken.

"There," Loki said, without letting go of her foot, "all better."

It was at this point that it would have been wise to move her foot out of his lap and his grasp, but Darcy wasn't feeling wise or particularly intelligent. She was heartsick and lonely, desperate for some sort of physical connection, ready to accept any illusion of affection offered.

"Are you sure? It still stings a little. Maybe you should kiss it better?" She barely recognized her own voice, and in some corner of her mind, she cringed.

Loki looked at her, still cradling her foot, really looked at her, and it felt like she was laid bare before him. He lowered his lips to her sensitive skin and gently pressed a kiss to the place that no longer hurt. If she'd have been able to, she would have looked away, but she couldn't.

"What do you need from me Darcy?" he asked softly.

Darcy shook her head, purposely not understanding the question.

She'd known, intellectually, that he was a shape-shifter. Reading about it in a personnel file couldn't compare to being faced with it. Ian sat before her suddenly, that familiar warm grin on his face.

"I can be exactly who you want," Loki said, in Ian's voice, while he stroked a hand from her foot up her calf.

Darcy quivered at the contact, her body reacting to the stimulation despite herself. She shook her head, because Ian had never been someone she honestly  _lusted_ after, not even in the headiest, earliest days of their relationship. Saving the world, the resulting adrenaline-rush,  _living_ when they should have died - that had been the whole basis of their thing, and it turned out to be a flimsy foundation for a meaningful, long-lasting connection.

"Maybe she is more to your taste?" and he was Liv, licking her lips in a way that was all Loki.

Darcy's head started spinning again, or maybe it had never stopped.

It was  _Liv's_ short nails tracing a slow path along Darcy's inner thigh,  _her_ smell suddenly in the air, and it would be so fucking easy to let this happen. To let herself go, to  _use_ Loki. To take what he offered with that brittle smile on the face that wasn't his. Darcy dashed unexpected wetness off her cheeks, and found that she was somehow also smiling.

"No, Loki," she choked out past the lump in her throat, reaching a hand out to stroke Liv's face one last time. "I want you."

Darcy felt him shudder at the contact, and then he was simply Loki again, not that there was anything simple about Loki. She leaned over and kissed him. They really excelled in the physical compatibility department, but it was slowly, dimly occurring to her that Loki wouldn't offer to take on someone else's form like that to just anyone.

"Wait!" she broke their kiss abruptly, and found that her hands had buried themselves in his hair. As she screwed up her courage, Darcy combed her fingers through the silky softness. "When I said wanted you, Loki, I meant it. You as you are. No masks between us."

He licked his lips, probably tasting the vodka she'd been drinking, "You're more drunk than I thought. I shouldn't have - I should  _go._ "

He put her feet on the floor, moving her arms so her hands were in her own lap. He laughed, almost, a sort of disbelieving chuckle as he stood and ran his hands through his hair.

"I'm not so drunk I don't know what I want. Maybe I'm drunk enough to say what I really want," she stood, too, swaying a little unsteadily, making a liar out of herself. "Please don't go." She reached out and grabbed his hand, peering up at him, "I don't want to be alone."

Darcy could see the moment he capitulated in the way his shoulders drooped and his eyes closed. His hand clenched around hers, and when he opened his eyes again, she got up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. Loki let go of her hand and lifted her up, her legs going around his waist, her head resting along his shoulder. It didn't occur to her until much later that she didn't have to tell him where her bedroom was, she was oddly happy to find herself lying in bed with him, face to face.

Loki brushed her hair out of her face, "Sleep, Darcy."

She hadn't even been that tired, but her eyelids were suddenly heavy, and the last thing she remembered was his voice whispering that he'd be there in the morning and how much that thought comforted her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am hugely grateful for the kudos and comments! It really means a lot.


	3. ...with the orphans

Darcy smelled coffee. There was a moment between sleep and consciousness where she thought that maybe she'd left her window open and that the scent was wafting up from the street, but when she opened her eyes, there was a cup steaming on her nightstand. She found that curious, until she recalled the night before.  

Low voices whispered in her living room, and Darcy rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before she got up to investigate. She stopped short of entering her living room, uncertain about facing Jane in light of having had Loki sleep over. Darcy peeked out of the crack between her door and frame, and saw that Jane was sitting on her couch, sipping from one of Darcy's favorite cups, while Loki leaned against the wall next to an open window. 

"I swear to god, Loki, I will eviscerate you if you hurt her," Jane was saying.

"Maybe you should have saved your threats for _darling Liv_ , Jane," Loki hissed back. "She's the one who did this with her bloody cowardice, not me. I did all I could."

Jane sighed, "I know you did, but maybe if you'd have told me that to begin with, I would've waited to contact her, prepared her or something." Jane sighed again and scrubbed a hand down her face, "Look, I didn't come here to fight with you. I just want her... to be _Darcy_ again."

"You say that as if I haven't been trying to help as best I can, Jane," and the words took Darcy by surprise. 

"Point taken. Look, I've got to get to work, but stop by soon, ok? Teej wants to see her favorite uncle." Jane stood and grabbed her purse from the coffee table.

Loki smiled, his whole face softening for a moment, "Tell the little monster I will see her after school."

"You're not the worst," Jane grinned back, "I forget that sometimes. Tell Darcy I love her, will you?"

Loki nodded, and let the diminutive scientist hug him before she left.

"Spying on people isn't a particularly nice habit," Loki said to the empty room, and grabbed his own cup, sipping from it delicately.

Darcy sagged a little before walking into the room. "So's talking about someone behind their back," she spat as she plopped down on the recently vacated couch. Confusion never did bring out the best in her, but there were layers in the conversation he'd just had with Jane that she did not want to examine too closely. 

"She's worried about you. We both are."

"I'm fine," Darcy closed her eyes, rubbing them again, cursing herself just a little for leaving her contacts in for so long. She didn't need to see Loki's face to know that both of his eyebrows were raised in that disbelieving way of his. "I've gotta get ready for work, so unless there was something else...?"

The question dangled between them, and Darcy tried to pretend that she didn't notice the hurt on Loki's face, how jerky his movements were as he stalked over to the door. It didn't work. Or she was weaker than she thought, because she found herself standing next to him, pressing a hand to the door and kiss on his jaw.

"I'll call you tonight," she almost crossed her fingers before continuing, "Maybe, you know, if you're not busy, you'd like to have dinner?"

His arms came up around her, "Don't drink before I get here."

"Sure, whatever," Darcy said, mildly offended by the implication of his request, and twisted out of his embrace. "See you."

When she got home that night, after the dressing down and permanent mark in her employment file with SHIELD. Abandoning her post to go see Liv didn't seem so logical in the harsh light of day, and all she really wanted was a drink. Her new orders kept catching her eye on the counter where she'd tossed them. She opened the freezer door, looking at the bottle of vodka, before she closed it again and called Loki.

Darcy heard Teejay's familiar voice in the background briefly before Loki answered, "Hello?"

She suddenly felt stupid for intruding on his life. It wasn't like he owed her anything. Hell, it wasn't even like they were friends. How many times did she need to remind herself of that before it finally sunk in? (They weren't actually _friends_ were they? If so, when had _that_ happened?) 

Darcy almost hung up, but she steeled herself and said, "Uhm, hi. Just wanted to let you know I just got home, and... I was thinking of ordering Chinese. I could order something for you, if you were still thinking about stopping by?"

There were several seconds of high-pitched, delighted giggles in the background, before Loki finally answered her, "Certainly. Give me about an hour. _Sorry, poppet. You know your mum doesn't like it when I interfere with your bedtime. No, don't take my pho-,_ "

"Auntie Dee Dee, you should come here! And then unca Loki won't have to leave, and I could stay up late," Teejay was suddenly on the line, and Darcy felt a visceral stab of guilt for not being more present in her life lately. The kid deserved better.

"Sorry, kiddo, not tonight," Darcy closed her eyes, resolutely not crying, "But I'll stop by soon, I promise."

"Aw, you always say that," and Darcy nearly marveled at Teejay's innate ability to twist the proverbial knife.

Something rustled, and Loki was back on the line, "That's enough of that, young lady. Listen, Darcy, I've got to go, but I'll see you soon."

"Would you tell Teejay I love her and I'll see her tomorrow?"

There was silence on the line for so long, Darcy wondered if they'd already been disconnected.

"Certainly," Loki finally responded, though he sounded highly dubious, and then he really did hang up, leaving Darcy alone with her thoughts.

It was funny, but not like _haha_ funny, how messy her apartment was, especially considering that it wasn't getting much use in the last few months. She couldn't let herself get overwhelmed trying to figure out where to start with it all, because nothing would get done that way. Somehow, after she'd placed the order and was waiting for either the food or Loki to arrive, she'd managed to change her sheets and swept up the worst of the dust.

It was easier to ignore the vodka calling her when she kept herself busy, which was why she was a little disheveled and sweaty the second time she opened the door that night. This time it was Loki standing there, looking delicious in short sleeves and slightly too tight pants.

"Come in," she said, waving him in, a bit flustered by the quick peck he pressed to her cheek as he passed.

It occurred to her that in all their years of acquaintance that they didn't exactly do the conversation/socialising thing. They mostly just fucked and left the talking by the wayside. It was easier to ignore how weird she felt the situation was while she was stuffing her face, but once the food was gone, they both sat and looked at each other. Silently.

"I didn't realize you were close with Jane and Teejay," Darcy finally blurted out.

"Oh? She's my niece, and someone has to look out for them with Thor off doing whatever nonsense he thinks is important. Not that they need it really, but it makes me feel better. She's such a great little one, too, so... you know. It's not a hardship." 

It would be so much easier to relax if she could just have a sip of vodka, but she resisted the urge, fisting her hands under her thighs. Darcy started to ask Loki about his latest assignment, just as he started to ask how her day had gone. They laughed a little halfheartedly about the jumble their words had become, each waiting for the other to continue.

"Well, ha. Suspended for a week without pay _and_ I'm being transferred to New Mexico. I'm on guard duty for the foreseeable future, but I got to keep my job. Sort of a bad news/good news thing, I guess. How's it going breaking in a new relocation team?" She asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the problems she didn't want to think about.

Loki described the new people, and how difficult it could be to learn to mesh with different personality types. For a while they talked back forth various work-related things before the words inevitably petered out.

Loki scratched at the back of his head, as visibly uncomfortable as Darcy had ever seen him, "So, it's getting late. Should I, that is, do you want me to stay?"

"Do you? Want to stay, I mean." 

Loki blushed. She'd never seen him blush before. She'd seen him naked, but never that flush staining his neck and cheeks.

"Yes."

"Good. Stay, then. I'll just put this stuff in the trash, and," the words stuck in her throat, and she ruthlessly swallowed a cough, "see you in bed?"

Why was it so heinously awkward? They'd done this before. With less of the eating and chatting, and more of the tearing clothes off. This felt suspiciously like a date, or like friendship, and she wasn't sure which one terrified her more. In her limited experience space-people tended to not stick around. Darcy took the trash out and banged her head quietly into the wall before she came back inside.

Loki was sitting on her bed, taking his socks off, but he lifted his face towards her when she entered the room. What she saw there made her breath stutter, made her flush, but she wouldn't let herself chicken out on this. On him. Darcy didn't look away as she unbuttoned her shirt, and threw it in her laundry. Likewise, she watched his Adam's apple bob, as she slid her shorts down, and stepped out of them. One of his socks still dangled from his fingertips, like he'd forgotten what he was doing, as she undid her bra.

There was confidence to be found in the way he regarded her with reverence. She crawled across the bed separating them, stopping close enough to feel the heat of his body.

"Do you need help?" Darcy asked, as she dragged a single finger down the placard of his shirt.

His lips curled up in a grin, "If you're offering."

Her fingers were clumsy on the buttons down the front, the strip of skin that was visible at his neck lengthening the more of them she slipped free distracting her. She ran her hands under the two halves and helped him shrug out of it. He shivered at the contact. Once the shirt was disposed of, Darcy notice how much thinner Loki was. How the muscles in his chest and shoulders were almost striated.

She wondered at the change, until Loki kissed her, and she stopped thinking in general. Darcy wasn't sure if she pulled him down on the bed, or if he pushed her over, but she liked the end result all the same. His belt scraped her soft belly as he settled himself over her. He looked sheepish after she'd yelped and broke the kiss, but it was easily remedied by getting rid of his pants. Once they were off, Loki nuzzled her from her bellybutton all the way up to her neck.

"You smell lovely," he paused to bury his face in the crook of her neck. "You always do. How do you manage it?"

"Soap? Deodorant? Good personal hygiene?"

"Minx," he breathed into her ear, right before he nibbled gently on the shell.

A thrill of heat ran straight through her, making her shudder, making her nipples peak. Loki tilted his head to glance down the length of her body, a certain slyness in his voice when he asked her if he did that. Darcy didn't know how to answer, so she went with silence, letting the way she drew her hands up to cup her breasts do the speaking for her. Loki hummed deep in his chest, and then he shifted so his face was closer to her torso.

Loki nosed her hands out of the way, letting his lips trail across her sensitive skin. She gasped as he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking and nibbling until she moaned. Loki's fingers dipped inside her, testing her wetness, circled her clit, once, twice. Impatience swept through her, need and want mingling until she could hardly stand it.

"Enough," she panted.

He stopped, even though he knew what she wanted. The feel of his smile against her was clue that he knew exactly what he was doing, that he knew exactly what she wanted. Darcy twisted and whined, trying to make him do something, anything.

"Use your words, Darcy. What do you need?" His voice flitted over her like something tangible.

Her hands were tangled in his hair before she realized what she was doing. Darcy lifted his head, so she could look at his face, "Just fuck me already."

Loki chuckled darkly, "Not that wasn't so hard, was it?"

He lifted her legs, setting her thigs around his  and entered her while they both gasped. Darcy lost herself in the thick rhythm, in the push and pull. Her hands found purchase in the sheets, and she held on tightly, used it to anchor herself in reality for as long as possible, so she could enjoy how he fucked her.

She thought maybe he whispered her name as they came.

The next morning, her apartment was empty. Darcy decided she was happy that he'd left before she woke up, especially since she needed to decide how to proceed with her life. SHIELD had always been a high stress job, and she hadn't been coping well with it for a long time. She wondered if it was time for a change, but perhaps it was best to hold off on quitting for a few months while she tried to get a hold on her life.

In the meantime she had a week to pack and get ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sometimes head canon that Jane and Darcy have a real connection because Darcy doesn't have a family, and while Jane does, hers were to busy 'building their careers' to actually be there, and they bonded over similar but different familial situations... hence "waiting with the orphans" since Loki is likewise without parentals. (Found family is such an amazing thing.)
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has chosen to come on this journey with me. Your support means so much

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks for reading!


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